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Executive Order 8517 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 8517—Changing the Name of the Delta Migratory Waterfowl Refuge to Delta National Wildlife Refuge and Adding Certain Lands

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Friday, August 16, 1940
•
3 min read (640 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (640 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The name of the Delta Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, established by Executive Order No. 7229, of November 19, 1935, and enlarged by Executive Orders Nos. 7383, of June 5, 1936, and 7538, of January 19, 1937, is hereby changed to Delta National Wildlife Refuge.

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 16, 1940, this order concerns Changing the Name of the Delta Migratory Waterfowl Refuge to Delta National Wildlife Refuge and Adding Certain Lands. The name of the Delta Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, established by Executive Order No. 7229, of November 19, 1935, and enlarged by Executive Orders Nos. 7383, of June 5, 1936, and 7538, of January 19, 1937, is hereby changed to Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Sec. 2.

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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The name of the Delta Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, established by Executive Order No. 7229, of November 19, 1935, and enlarged by Executive Orders Nos. 7383, of June 5, 1936, and 7538, of January 19, 1937, is hereby changed to Delta National Wildlife Refuge.

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Subject to valid rights, all lands owned or controlled by the United States within the following-described area, comprising approximately 41,550 acres, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, are hereby included in and reserved as a part of the refuge: Provided , That any private lands within the area described shall become a part of the refuge upon acquisition of title thereto or control thereof by the United States: ST.

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R. 18 E., radial secs. 1 to 7, inclusive, all; T. 20 S., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1 to 11. inclusive, all; T. 21 S., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1 to 12, inclusive, 27, 28, 29, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 43. 45, 48, and 49, all; T. 22 S., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 to 14, Inclusive, all; and the following-described lands surveyed by the State of Louisiana, plat approved by the Chief State Engineer, June 1936: T. 20 S., R. 19 E., secs. 1. 2. 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, and 17, all within the Grand Prairie Levee District established by the Board of State Engineers in November 1932; sec. 20, SW¼; sec. 24, all southeast of Main Pass; sec. 25, all; sec. 26, all southeast of Main Pass; sec. 29, NE¼ and S½: sec. 33, W½NW¼ and NW¼SW¼; sec.…

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HELENA MERIDIAN T. 20 8., R. 18 E., radial secs. 38 to 48, inclusive, all; T. 21 S., R. 18 E., radial secs. 1 to 7, inclusive, all; T. 20 8., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1 to 11, inclusive, all; T. 21 S., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1 to 52, inclusive, all; T. 22 8., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1 to 14, inclusive, all; and the following-described lands surveyed by the State of Louisiana, plat approved by the Chief State Engineer, June 1936: T. 20 S., R. 19 E., secs. 1, 2, 9 to 17, inclusive, 19 to 30, inclusive, and 32 to 36, inclusive, all: T. 21 8., R. 19 E., secs. 1 to 5. inclusive, 9 to 15, inclusive, and 22 to 26, inclusive, all; T. 19 S., R. 20 E., sec. 32, all; T. 20 S., R. 20 E., all fractional; T. 21 8., R. 20 E., all fractional.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Energy & Environment
🏛️

The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)

Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.

Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)

Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
23 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
640
3,330 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
6
Grade 6
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
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Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (2 sections)
Sec. 1Sec. 2

LOUISIANA By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me as President of the United States and in order to effectuate further the purposes of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (45 Stat. 1222, 16 U.S.C. 715), it is ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

The name of the Delta Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, established by Executive Order No. 7229, of November 19, 1935, and enlarged by Executive Orders Nos. 7383, of June 5, 1936, and 7538, of January 19, 1937, is hereby changed to Delta National Wildlife Refuge.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Subject to valid rights, all lands owned or controlled by the United States within the following-described area, comprising approximately 41,550 acres, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, are hereby included in and reserved as a part of the refuge: Provided , That any private lands within the area described shall become a part of the refuge upon acquisition of title thereto or control thereof by the United States: ST. HELENA MERIDIAN T. 20 S., R. 18 E., radial secs. 38 to 48, inclusive, all; T. 21 S.. R. 18 E., radial secs. 1 to 7, inclusive, all; T. 20 S., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1 to 11. inclusive, all; T. 21 S., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1 to 12, inclusive, 27, 28, 29, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 43. 45, 48, and 49, all; T. 22 S., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 to 14, Inclusive, all; and the following-described lands surveyed by the State of Louisiana, plat approved by the Chief State Engineer, June 1936: T. 20 S., R. 19 E., secs. 1. 2. 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, and 17, all within the Grand Prairie Levee District established by the Board of State Engineers in November 1932; sec. 20, SW¼; sec. 24, all southeast of Main Pass; sec. 25, all; sec. 26, all southeast of Main Pass; sec. 29, NE¼ and S½: sec. 33, W½NW¼ and NW¼SW¼; sec. 34, all southeast of Main Pass; secs. 35 and 36, all; T. 21 S., R. 19 E., secs. 1 and 2, all; sec. 3, all southeast of Main Pass; sec. 5, all; secs. 10 to 15, inclusive, all; secs. 22 to 26, inclusive, all; T. 19 S., R. 20 E., sec. 32, all; T. 20 S., R. 20 E., sec. 5, all; sec. 7, all southeast of Main Pass; secs. 8, 9, 15, 16, and 17, all; sec. 18, all southeast of Main Pass, and that part of the SW¼ northwest of Main Pass; secs. 19 to 23, inclusive, all; secs. 26 to 35. inclusive, all; T. 21 8., R. 20 E., all fractional. The Delta National Wildlife Refuge, as enlarged by this order, consists of all lands owned or controlled by the United States within the following-described area, comprising approximately 56,200 acres: ST. HELENA MERIDIAN T. 20 8., R. 18 E., radial secs. 38 to 48, inclusive, all; T. 21 S., R. 18 E., radial secs. 1 to 7, inclusive, all; T. 20 8., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1 to 11, inclusive, all; T. 21 S., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1 to 52, inclusive, all; T. 22 8., R. 19 E., radial secs. 1 to 14, inclusive, all; and the following-described lands surveyed by the State of Louisiana, plat approved by the Chief State Engineer, June 1936: T. 20 S., R. 19 E., secs. 1, 2, 9 to 17, inclusive, 19 to 30, inclusive, and 32 to 36, inclusive, all: T. 21 8., R. 19 E., secs. 1 to 5. inclusive, 9 to 15, inclusive, and 22 to 26, inclusive, all; T. 19 S., R. 20 E., sec. 32, all; T. 20 S., R. 20 E., all fractional; T. 21 8., R. 20 E., all fractional. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, August 16, 1940.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 8517 (Aug. 16, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8517-changing-the-name-the-delta-migratory-waterfowl-refuge-delta-national.